The Single Best Aspect of this Game

[PioneerCoach5]

Unfortunately, I have the personality type that if I don't win by 40 points it is considered a loss. I'm the same way in real life. I hate losing football games.

Another example of how knowing the tendencies of the opponent has helped me overcome a difficult team came just a few days ago. I'm in Season Three with the Patriots having just come out of the Jack English draft. Somehow, Atlanta (with 1:02 in 2008) picked up Darren McFadden and subsequently went on to have 1:02 again and picked up Jack English himself. Needless to say this team is going to be stacked in a few years, but I figured that I would have some fun picking on the youngsters in the meantime. What actually happened was Darren McFadden picked up two 80 yard TD runs in a row. The first time was a bad call on my part, blitzing the middle and man covering across the board, but the second one was just ridiculous, breaking four tackles in the backfield to take it down the field again.

So, I began to understand that because I was so focused on shutting Jack English down, I was neglecting to cover my bases as a coach and shut a team down on the ground. After changing up my strategy, and running a lot more zone than I wanted, I was able to force them to the air. English was able to fire off two lasers for scores, but three interceptions kept them at bay. Darren McFadden finished the game with 200 yards on the ground, entirely more than any other player has ever gotten on my defenses. It was saddening, but it turned out to be a convincing win.

Bringing the point back home, you still have to be able to adjust to what the opponent is going to try to do to you. "Inside Handoff" can be a bit ambiguous, but if you know which plays shut down that inside run, you can force a team to leave it's tendencies. That causes discomfort, takeaways, and defeat.

Quote:

I know for a good portion of the games, the formations it tells me that the other teams was going to be lining up in is flat out wrong. It'll tell me the offense is coming out in a 2 reciever set and I'll come out in a base defense only to have linebackers trying to cover 2 of the offenses 4 recievers. Since it was wrong in game so much, I figured it would be during the week. Nice to hear it does work.

I have the same issue. I'm not sure which stat affects it, Head Coach or Defensive Coordinator, but it is really irrelevant for the defense I run. The 3-3-5 Mustang only has the one personnel option, so I tend to match-up well either way. Still, it bugs me. If anyone finds a solution I'd be most appreciative.

[damonb10]

Quote: Originally Posted by PioneerCoach5

I have the same issue. I'm not sure which stat affects it, Head Coach or Defensive Coordinator, but it is really irrelevant for the defense I run. The 3-3-5 Mustang only has the one personnel option, so I tend to match-up well either way. Still, it bugs me. If anyone finds a solution I'd be most appreciative.

The Strategy grade/rating of your coordinators and head coach affect the reliability of that information.